[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#f9f9f9″ max_height=”55px” custom_margin=”-20px||||false|false” custom_padding=”||40px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”|||15px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
VOL. 07\u00a0 |\u00a0 ISSUE 3\u00a0 |\u00a0 September 2024<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Hero” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fmminermag.com\/htdocs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/leach-to-the-last-drop.jpg” title_text=”leach-to-the-last-drop” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||10px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Cutline” module_class=”cutline ” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]Adam Roberts, Leach Operator I, delivers rolls of plastic material used to cover stockpiles. Many of the innovations in Leach to the Last Drop were adapted from other industries, including the covers created for agriculture.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_post_title meta=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=”Story Lead” module_class=”story-lead” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]The promise of using science, technology and innovation to create a new way to extract copper sounded pretty optimistic when company leaders started touting it publicly a couple of years ago.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Now that it\u2019s proved itself, Leach to the Last Drop has caught the attention of competitors, the media and the financial community.<\/p>\n
Kathleen Quirk, President and Chief Executive Officer, said during an April 2022 earnings call that Freeport\u2019s leaching initiative had the potential to deliver 200 million pounds or more of copper per year \u2013 previously considered unrecoverable \u2013 from existing stockpiles.<\/p>\n
That is the equivalent of opening a new mine without the associated capital costs, regulatory burdens or construction delays, she said at the time. The copper could be produced at a lower cost and in a more environmentally friendly manner than traditional mining.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do believe that others around the industry will pick up (leaching) over time,\u201d Quirk said during a global mining conference in 2022. \u201cThe size of the prize is so significant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leach to the Last Drop has met those early optimistic predictions. In 2023, the year ended at an annualized production rate of 200 million pounds of copper that otherwise would have gone unrecovered. With scaling and innovation, the estimates are it could account for 400 million pounds of additional copper annually in the next few years, with the ultimate goal of eventually achieving 800 million pounds annually.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody is chasing us,\u201d said Justin Cross, Vice President-Operational Improvement. \u201cLeaching is going to be a huge part of copper mining in the future, a bigger part than it is today because of all the things it has going for it \u2013 less carbon intensity, less water intensity, less capital intensity. We are well positioned to get there first, but there is a tremendous amount of energy and resource in the industry shaping the future of hydrometallurgy.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_testimonial author=”Justin Cross” job_title=”Vice President-Operational Improvement” portrait_url=”https:\/\/fmminermag.com\/htdocs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/quote-mark.gif” quote_icon=”off” portrait_width=”45px” portrait_height=”45px” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” body_font=”Roboto|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#939598″ author_font=”Roboto||||||||” author_font_size=”14px” position_font=”Roboto||||||||” position_text_color=”#939598″ position_font_size=”14px” company_font=”Roboto||||||||” company_font_size=”14px” border_radii_portrait=”on|0px|0px|0px|0px” border_color_all_portrait=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” border_style_all_portrait=”none” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
We are building the plane as we fly it. The ideas are coming from everywhere \u2013 from the front line, from our vendors, from our competitors, management. This is a call to action for the entire company, and it\u2019s almost impossible to replicate. While we are solving many technical problems, the collaboration of the Freeport team is truly at the core of our success and will be even more so going forward.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” module_class=”question_answer” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Freeport is in a unique position to benefit from more sophisticated leaching because of the size, number and residual copper volumes in our existing stockpiles, Cross said.<\/p>\n
Leach to the Last Drop began as an analysis of the company\u2019s 50 existing stockpiles following a model called PAU \u2013 previously assumed unrecoverable, Cross said. People from frontline operators to scientists, data specialists and company leaders collaborated to develop new tactics to target that copper.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fmminermag.com\/htdocs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Miner-Leaching-2-Morenci.jpg” title_text=”Miner-Leaching-2-Morenci” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”cutline ” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Pranav Attavar, Superintendent-Leaching Continuous Improvement (right) and Joel Russell, Engineering Specialist II, review data which is an important part of Leach to the Last Drop in Morenci.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” module_class=”question_answer” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are building the plane as we fly it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe ideas are coming from everywhere \u2013 from the front line, from our vendors, from our competitors, management. This is a call to action for the entire company, and it\u2019s almost impossible to replicate. While we are solving many technical problems, the collaboration of the Freeport team is truly at the core of our success and will be even more so going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other companies are pursuing advanced leaching techniques to extract more copper from their own assets. Where it makes sense, Freeport will use the products of other companies, apply their discoveries and even partner with them to develop mutually beneficial new products like chemical additives.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fmminermag.com\/htdocs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Miner-Leaching-3.jpg” title_text=”Miner-Leaching-3″ show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”cutline ” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Jason Green, Project Engineer II (left), and Hector Romo, Lead Engineering Technician, are both part of the Continuous Improvement team at Morenci that is finding new ways to extract copper from existing stockpiles. They watch as drip lines are installed to reach copper in the side slope.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” module_class=”question_answer” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
But much of Freeport\u2019s innovation was developed internally. Nearly 100 patents have been issued to the company in the past 10 years, most dealing with the leaching project, and others are pending.<\/p>\n
The goal is to unlock the copper as safely, quickly and efficiently as possible, Cross said. Given the estimates that global electrification will cause demand for copper that will far outpace supply in the coming years, new approaches to copper mining will be needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really are tapping into the collective brainpower that exists to get to a solution as fast as we can,\u201d Cross said. \u201cWe are more focused on solving the very next problem than with what the perfect long-term solution is. This bias for action is generating immediate value that yields better solutions and ideas. This balance of a long-term vision and near-term execution is building our confidence and accelerates learning in a very healthy way.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fmminermag.com\/htdocs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Miner-Leaching-Morenci-4.jpg” title_text=”Miner-Leaching-Morenci-4″ show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”cutline ” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
One of the early successes of Leach to the Last Drop was installing covers to increase the heat in the stockpiles.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” module_class=”question_answer” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
It’s not just other mining companies that are noticing Freeport\u2019s leaching success. It also is getting attention in the financial community.<\/p>\n
\u201cFreeport\u2019s operational excellence and development expertise has long been recognized as a strength by Wall Street,\u201d said David Joint, Vice President-Investor Relations. \u201cOur team\u2019s early success in our innovative Leach to the Last Drop initiatives have not gone unnoticed, and analysts and investors have begun ascribing values as our operations enhance recoveries and add new volumes to our production profile from historical stockpiles. As Freeport continues to build momentum through these important new operating practices, these successes should further elevate our position as foremost in copper.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investment advice company Motley Fool recently called the leaching breakthroughs Freeport\u2019s \u201cSecret Weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
An April 2024 report from BNP Paribas, a multinational bank and financial services holding company, described the company\u2019s success as a \u201cmeaningful and unique opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The additional low-cost copper could add about $15 billion in value to the company, or the equivalent of about $10.57 per share based on copper selling at $4 per pound, according to the analysis.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur conclusion is simple; achieving leaching targets is extremely valuable accretive,\u201d BNP Paribas said. \u201cA combination of low cost and long life offers significant value at a wide range of copper prices.\u201d<\/p>\n
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